Developmental Coordination Disorder (AKA Dyspraxia)

[Cordellia Amethyste Rose]

First of all, a big thanks to Aaron Wolfie who told me about this condition.  Once I Googled it and read about it, I immediately saw how well it fit me.  I have almost every symptom.  There are lots of sites with information about it.  Here's one:  http://www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/dyspraxia-adults/

There are a lot of symptoms, and I'm not good at summarizing things, but it's essentially people who, from early childhood, have poor coordination.  They have poor gross motor-coordination skills, poor fine motor-coordination skills, speech problems, trouble with eye movements, perception, learning, memory, etc.  

I have trouble with all those things, so I emailed the link to Cynthia, and she said it sounded right to her and that I should talk to my therapist about it.  Cynthia hadn't heard of it until she looked it up.  I looked in my DSM-IV TR about it but couldn't find it, so I wondered if maybe it weren't an officially recognized condition.  Fortunately I have the DSM-5 on my computer, so I was able to search for the word "Dyspraxia", and it came up under Developmental Coordination Disorder.  

I saw my therapist today and asked her to look into it, so she got out her DSM-5 and looked it up.  She asked me a few questions, like if I'd had these issues since early childhood, which I have.  She asked if it's hard to put on clothes and do and undo buttons, which it is.  I wear the same slip-on dress every day because it's comfortable and easy to get into.  I told her I'm always tripping and come very close to falling many times a day.  We talked for a little while, and she said she definitely thinks it fits, so she's going to add it to my file as an official diagnosis.  She said it can be comorbid with Autism Spectrum Disorder, which I have.  

Anyway, if you have trouble with coordination, check out that link, and if you want to see a professional about an official diagnosis, remember to tell them to look up Developmental Coordination Disorder, as that's how it's listed in the DSM-5.  

Thanks again, Aaron.  

[Cordellia Amethyste Rose]

What did my blog have to do with drugging kids?  I don't think we should just drug kids because they have struggles.  I'm trying to understand myself so that I know what I have to manage & work with.  It's a learning process.  I'm taking no drug for this condition, but understanding it is another part of understanding myself.  

[Cordellia Amethyste Rose]

I'm just reporting on something I have because learning something more about myself makes me feel better.  I'm not saying that every person on here has is.  I never told anyone to self-diagnose.  I posted it because if someone does have these issues, then it might feel better to see a professional and understand why.